Daniel Bwala, a former spokesman for Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization has identified governors as the primary obstacle to good governance in Nigeria.
Commending the Supreme Court’s decision on local government autonomy, Bwala criticized governors for their lack of action.
He accused them of failing to address hunger and unemployment despite receiving funds from President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“Thank God for the Supreme Court verdict on local government autonomy, which ruled that it is unconstitutional for state governments to withhold LG funds. Henceforth, the Federal Government should pay directly to LGAs,” Bwala stated in a post on his X.
He continued, “One victory down. The next step is either a constitutional review or a court ruling that mandates INEC to conduct LG elections. Otherwise, governors might continue using appointed LG chairmen to hold the funds in trust for them.”
Bwala emphasized, “Governors are the main impediment to good governance, but many are unaware. Do you know how much they have received since @officialABAT took office? What measures are they taking in their states to combat hunger and unemployment?
“In my view, even media outlets rarely focus on this issue because their major advertisers are state governments. We all need to push this democracy forward. There is God ohhhhh.”
Chronicle NG reports that on Thursday, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional for state governors to control funds meant for local government administrations.
The seven-man panel, led by Justice Emmanuel Agim, ruled that the 774 local government councils in Nigeria should manage their funds independently.
The court emphasized that the power of government is divided into three tiers: federal, state, and local government.
It further declared that state governments lack the authority to appoint caretaker committees, asserting that a local government council is only legitimate if it is democratically elected.
